


Romance Is For Punks (So Bring It On)

by grimcognito



Category: Eyeshield 21
Genre: Angry Boys Being Soft, Asexual Character, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Flowers and Handholding, Fluff, Habashira is a Ball of Anxiety, Hiruma Has To Try, M/M, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-31
Updated: 2018-08-15
Packaged: 2018-12-09 11:00:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11667774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grimcognito/pseuds/grimcognito
Summary: Habashira wants a little romance and Hiruma doesn't do anything by halves.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Set before my poor lizard boy has to get beat up or his dreams crushed by his team, while he's still running errands for Hiruma. This is the fluff express, my friends.
> 
> I spell Hiruma's name Yoichi, since that's how it's spelled in most references.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit: I added the asexual character tag for Rui, it's not explicitly stated but it might be helpful when reading his pov chapters!

The first time Hiruma backed Habashira up against the wall of the clubhouse after hours, crowded in close with clear intent, Habashira had turned away. His posture had been loose, his face gone a light pink all over, but those wide eyes were fixed on the wall beside them like it had the answers to the universe if he stared hard enough. 

Frowning, Hiruma paused, still close, but assessing now, wondering if he’d read the signals wrong. While there were few lines Hiruma cared if he crossed, there were some things he wasn’t about to take without a clear sign of approval. Habashira was calmer than he’d expected, no shouting or shoving, just a quiet sort of resignation that set Hiruma’s teeth on edge. The chameleon always had some level of nervous energy thrumming through him, unable to keep still, but right now, his chest rose and fell in slow, even breaths. Like he was doing a breathing exercise to keep calm. Well shit. 

“You don’t want this?”

Maybe Habashira hadn’t known how intently he’d been watching Hiruma, the signals he’d been giving off any time they were in a room together. In which case, Hiruma would let the guy deal with that drama on his own time. 

“Is this supposed to be part of the servitude contract?” Habashira shot back, finally looking at him from the corner of his eye, jaw tight. 

Hiruma stepped back and narrowed his eyes. “No. This is just between us.” Then he grinned. “Worried I’ll want a taste of your whole gang?” 

Habashira ignored the question. Again. At least he turned his head to look Hiruma straight on now. “Want to add some material to that little book of yours then?” 

Snorting at that, though he supposed it was a fair suspicion, Hiruma waved a hand as if to brush away the concern. “Real high opinion of yourself there, ever consider that I might just be interested?” 

Finally, Habashira’s expression shifted to something less blank, all scrunched eyebrows and tilted mouth, looking thrown. As if genuine desire wasn’t even an option on his list of reasons Hiruma might call him late in the afternoon for a ride, lure him into the clubhouse, and ask if wanted a taste since he kept staring at Hiruma’s mouth. He opened his mouth as if to say something, his long tongue sliding out, before he quickly curled it back behind his teeth and went pink again. Hiruma just grinned, razor sharp, and let him struggle through his own thoughts. Normally he’d already be fed up and have gone on his way, no time for indecisiveness, but a flustered Habashira more than made up for the trouble.

“No?” Was what he finally managed and Hiruma snorted. 

“You wanted a fucking bouquet of flowers? A box of chocolate?” Poking at Habashira’s pride never failed, Hiruma could already hear the posturing and shouted retorts in his head, but Habashira was apparently full of surprises today because he just crossed his arms and shifted his gaze to glare over Hiruma’s shoulder, face going redder. 

“Fuckin’ seriously?” 

That got him a reaction, fucking finally, and Habashira sneered and shoved him back another step, not nearly as hard as he could have. “If a guy can’t be bothered to try, why the hell should I give him the time of day, huh?” 

“Got ‘em lining up for you then, do you?” And oh, there was the anger he’d been expecting ten minutes ago. 

Bright gold eyes narrowed as much as Habashira’s ever seemed to, sharp and furious as his voice. “Doesn’t mean I’m gonna settle for the first shitty offer I get!” 

_The fuck?_ No one ‘settled’ for Hiruma Yoichi. He was just indignant enough to let Habashira, gangly limbs and all, slip past him toward the door. 

“I’m leaving, if you need a ride, call me in the morning, asshole.” 

Hiruma was tempted to pull a gun out on principle alone, but settled for watching the damn chameleon leave, staring hard enough that Habashira began to noticeably fidget and walk faster, which made him feel slightly better as he waited for the rumble of the motorcycle fade in the distance.

And fuck it all, Hiruma still wanted to kiss him, with his stupid face and his giant eyes and the weird little noises he made when he was confused. That little shit wanted romance? Hiruma would romance the fuck out of him. Habashira wouldn’t know what hit him. Slinging his sports bag over his shoulder, Hiruma grinned as he began to walk home.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Hiruma changes tactics and Habashira is Not Prepared.

Two days later, Hiruma ditched the Devil Bats’ practice with instructions and detailed threats about what would happen to them if they slacked off while he was gone. He left Cerberus behind to make sure they had a good reason to do laps if they didn’t want to get chewed on, and set out for the Zokugaku training field across town. He checked his phone and grinned at the two confirmation notifications, his orders ready for pick-up right on time, and headed toward the first shop on the way. 

All in all, it only took about a half hour to gather his purchases, which meant Hiruma was right on track for this plan.

The Zokugaku team was midway through their practice if Hiruma had to guess, and he could hear Habashira’s furiously barked instructions as soon as he entered the school grounds, kicking aside a lone punk who tried to confront him. His rifle was slung over one shoulder (enough to deter any other idiotic attempts to stop him), and leaning on his other was a massive bouquet of flowers tied with a big green silk bow. In his free hand, he held a slim and shiny wrapped gift box. 

The first to spot him were the slackers sprawled out on the side bench and nearby patches of grass. They jumped to their feet, looking confused, but determined to be aggressive about it. Hiruma cackled and dismissed them entirely, walking past as they fumbled over themselves, clearly thrown off by what seemed to be an enemy arriving with gifts. The commotion caught Habashira’s attention from the 100 yard dashes he was timing, and the moment he saw Hiruma he looked like might have actually swallowed that ridiculous tongue of his. 

Standing nearby, the team manager was watching him, a kendo sword in one hand, like she knew how to use it. Hm, maybe there was one other person on this team who wasn’t completely useless. Cackling to himself, he stepped right up to Habashira, making the two of them the center of everyone’s undivided attention, and pressed the bouquet to Habashira’s chest. Large hands covered Hiruma’s out of reflex, catching the flowers in case they dropped. Hiruma flattened his hand out under Habashira’s, pinning the flowers to his chest by leaning just a little bit of his weight into it, his grin wide and sharp as gold eyes focused completely on him. 

“Wha-?”

“Still think I’m not serious?” 

Habashira really was like a chameleon, what with how fast he could go from pale to a bright, splotchy red, all the way from his hair to below the neckline of his uniform. His eyes darted from Hiruma to the entire team surrounding them, then to the flowers. Swallowed hard as he realized that this was a clear declaration, Hiruma had put himself at a disadvantage, coming in by himself when he could easily be rejected in front of a crowd if Habashira wanted. 

His fingers twitched then closed more firmly around Hiruma’s hand and the flower stems, holding the bouquet to his chest as he looked anywhere but Hiruma’s eyes. “I guess they’re not terrible.”

Hiruma cackled and slid his hand free, tugging one of Habashira’s along with it and set the wrapped gift into his palm. “You’re not done yet, you still have a gift to open, Rui.” He drawled out Habashira’s name in a low tone, just to see him fumble, and to watch that fading flush crawl it’s way back up Habashira’s neck. 

“What is it?” Habashira asked, looking torn between caution and curiosity.

Hiruma clicked his tongue in annoyance. “Funny thing about boxes, you can open ‘em to see inside.” 

Habashira muttered something unflattering, but he tucked his flowers under one long arm (gently enough to keep from bruising them, Hiruma noted smugly) and tugged the ribbon on the slim box loose so he could open it. He looked inside, brow furrowing for a moment, then closed it again as he ducked his head, shoulders trembling. Whispers broke out in earnest around them, the gang trying to decide if it had all been a prank after all and if they needed to jump in and start a fight. 

The first choked noise Habashira let out was almost too soft for Hiruma to catch, but he did, and he grinned wide enough to show gum as Habashira’s control broke and he began to laugh in earnest. It was bright and loud and nothing like the posturing, creepy laughter he used to try and intimidate players and punks alike. It was the most unguarded he'd ever seen Habashira, and judging by the shock running through their onlookers, it was a rarity for them as well. 

The laugh faded into chuckles, too soon in Hiruma’s opinion, and Habashira pressed the back of his wrist again his eyes, probably trying not to smear his eyeliner as he wiped away the first hint of tears laughing had brought on. “Fuckin’ chocolate covered crickets? Really? You asshole.”

Hiruma smirked. “Best on the market. Don't tell me you're too chicken to eat them.” 

_Kekeke_ , there was that streak of pride he knew so well. Habashira got that stubborn look and flipped open the box once more, like a challenge. He popped a chocolate into his mouth and his glare faltered as he began to chew, distracted by the taste. 

“Huh. That's actually really good.” 

Hiruma laughed out loud at that, recapturing Habashira’s attention. He hooked a finger into the neckline of Habashira's jersey and tugged him closer. With both hands occupied, and unwilling to drop the bouquet or very nice chocolates resting open on his palm, Habashira leaned in, rather than risk losing his balance. 

Their faces just inches apart, Habashira swallowed hard, his gaze darting down to glance at Hiruma's mouth for the briefest second. Hiruma spoke, close enough for his breath to puff slightly against Habashira's mouth, “Good. Now get back to work and get your sorry ass team into better shape. I want a challenge next time we see you on the field.”

“What!?”

Hiruma tugged Habashira back in when he tried to rear back, even closer this time, and it shut him up effectively. He heard teeth click shut as startled gold eyes stared right into his. “I don't settle for second best.”

With that, he let go and stepped back, amused when Habashira nearly stumbled forward at the loss of contact. Laughing, he spun and pointed at some slacker half sprawled on the bench. “You! Give me a ride home.” 

“The fuck?” The guy, Hiruma couldn’t even be bothered to call him by his number, lurched to his feet. “I ain’t taking you anywhere.”

He was quick enough to change his tune when Hiruma let his rifle slip from his shoulder and into his hand, his grin going sharp-edged and cruel. “Oh really?” 

He was halfway across the field in record time, scrambling to get to his bike, and Hiruma turned to wink at Habashira before strolling toward the gate unhurriedly. “See you tomorrow, _Rui._ ” 

As he left, various students dodging out of his path and a roar of a bike grew closer, he heard a female voice break the quiet behind him with an incredulous, “What the HELL JUST HAPPENED?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're going to talk more about Habashira's eyeliner later on. While I totally believe he's got some dark eyelashes or something, no one has wings like that without a little help from makeup. ;)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rui stresses himself sick, and a much needed talk is had about Hiruma's gun-toting, murder-threatening habits and how they do not make good boyfriend material. Lucky for him, Rui's got some pretty low standards.

When Rui’s ringtone startled him out of sleep, he didn’t bother to check who was calling him at the ungodly hour of 5 in the goddamn morning, he just growled out a string of curses and pitched it as hard as he dared into a basket of laundry in the far corner of his room. It muffled the sound just enough for him to bury his head under his pillow and fall back asleep, wondering for a brief moment why the hell he hadn’t put it on silent in the first place. 

The sense of impending doom that woke him not long after reminded him exactly why he’d set his ringtone on the loudest setting. His eyes shot open under the pillow and he mouthed a silent ‘oh shit’ as he could practically feel the unmistakably menacing aura of a killer looming over his bed. He froze, mind empty of options. Normally he’d fling himself as far from the danger as possible, but with his bed pressed against a corner blocking two sides, and what had to be Hiruma--fucking breaking into people’s goddamn houses to scare the shit out of them--on another, he didn’t have many choices. Without any options to flee, his mind tripped into panic mode instead and he broke out into a cold sweat. 

He knew he’d been lured into a trap! He should have known Hiruma would get bored of being nice almost as soon as he started. True, Rui hadn’t reached out in response to the gift of flowers and chocolate, but it had only been a week! A week he'd had to spend keeping all his gang in line after they saw him acting soft, thanks to Hiruma. And what the hell was he supposed to say anyway? It was impossible to tell what Hiruma wanted. A date? Sex? To prove he was the best at something just because Rui implied he wasn’t? Hiruma’s schemes were always so convoluted, Rui couldn’t trust that this wouldn’t backfire at him in the end somehow. It always seemed to.

The click of a gun’s safety made Rui flinch and Hiruma’s voice was steady and cold. “Stop pretending to sleep, fucking chameleon. Want to tell me why you didn’t answer your phone? Too lazy to go for a run today?” 

He wanted to throw off the covers, scream at Hiruma to get the hell out, brandish the knife he kept tucked in his blankets at night and threaten him right back. But instead his limbs felt heavy and shaky all at once and his stomach was twisted in a painful knot. Rui tightened his hands into fists, angry at himself for acting so weak, and shoved his pillow away from his face with a snarl. He sat up fast enough to see the bright shock of Hiruma’s hair and the grey shape of a gun too close to his face before the room swam and he fell back against the bed, stomach pitching in rebellion. 

Not even Hiruma’s unsettling presence in his room could keep Rui from curling up in a ball of misery as nausea rolled through him in painful waves. The night before he’d been up late going over plays, dissecting strategies that had failed him and trying to find ways to make them better. His team kept falling behind and he had to bring them back before every player lost any shred of interest he’d managed to beat into them. It was up to him to prove they could do it, especially with Hiruma’s little parting words from before. He was going to claw his way back into winning status if he had to drag his team kicking and screaming into it, but first, he needed to get his plays laid out for any situation. 

In hindsight he could see where he’d gone wrong against the Devilbats. He’d made one good play but had no backup. Hiruma’s greatest skill was his ability to adjust to problems as fast as they arose, while Rui had to study players for periods of time before he could formulate a strategy against them. Normally it worked, but he couldn’t focus on everyone at once while playing, and it cost him his victory. So, he’d tried to compensate by coming up with plans that could be used in any eventuality. Only, for every play he laid out, he saw more weaknesses that had to have backup plans as well, and wound himself up further and further as the pile of crumpled and discarded papers beside his little desk continued to grow.

The stress of impending failure had crushed in around him and Rui’s body had reminded him exactly why he was supposed to be practicing his relaxation techniques. The next few miserable hours were spent draped around the toilet, tasting the return of his dinner and a hefty dose of regret. He’d only managed to drag himself to bed a short while before Hiruma’s call. Now, here he was, gritting his teeth and curled up so his forehead nearly touched his knees, arms wrapped tight around his stomach. 

It was oddly quiet, beyond the rush of blood in his ears and the strained whistle of breath through his teeth, and Rui spared a thought to wonder if Hiruma had left. He wasn’t sure if the idea of being alone was a relief or not. Best not to think too hard about it.

A warm hand settled on his side, thin fingers curled lightly over the worn cotton layer of his undershirt. Had he not already been as tense as possible, Rui would have flinched at the touch, expecting pain. 

Nothing happened though, just a soft back and forth motion of Hiruma’s hand, which might have been soothing in different circumstances. Rui, angry and nauseous and tired of trying to keep up with Hiruma’s hot and cold attitude, was not in the mood. He gritted out his words through clenched teeth, refusing to look at Hiruma. “What the fuck do you want, huh? Just leave me the hell alone for one goddamn day.” 

Hiruma, of course, ignored him. “What’s wrong?”

“Maybe I don’t like it when some asshole breaks into my fucking house and threatens to fucking shoot me!” 

“Did you get food poisoning or something?” Hiruma barreled on, voice steady and for once not laced with smug laughter at his plight. And that damn hand kept up it’s rubbing motion along his side. It was helping, as much as Rui hated to admit it, and for exactly that reason, he roughly knocked Hiruma’s hand away. The guy knew how to be just nice enough to make it hurt all the more later. 

“Fuck off. I’m tired of your games.”

The mattress dipped as Hiruma, that absolute piece of shit, sat himself down as if he’d been invited. “What games?” 

Rui uncurled enough to glare at him, sitting there next to Rui’s feet like he hadn’t just shown up and threatened him with a gun. A gun which had mysteriously vanished. He was tempted to kick him off the bed but his stomach was protesting the smallest movements, so instead he just imagined it as vividly a possible. “Are you really going to play dumb? You pretend to be nice, then go right back to your asshole self a week later. Mad I didn’t play my role and fall for you after one act? 

Hiruma braced himself on one arm and leaned a little closer, eyes narrowed. “It wasn’t an act.” 

He gave Rui a long, searching look, ignoring Rui’s unimpressed snort at his answer, and then had the audacity to speak up again in a softer voice. “Were you that stressed out?”

“I’m not stressed out.” Rui shot back stubbornly, despite them both knowing it was a lie.

“Uh huh, so this doesn’t have anything to do with your anxiety?” 

“How the hell do you know about that?”

Hiruma was looking at his nails like he was checking the state of his nonexistent manicure when Rui struggled up onto an elbow to glare at him properly. This time the asshole was definitely smug. “It’s in your school medical file.”

The only possible response to that was to boot Hiruma right off the bed. Rui shoved a heel against Hiruma’s hip with the intention of doing just that, but his stomach rebelled at the action and instead, he shuddered and went limp against the bed with a groan. 

Surprisingly, Hiruma didn’t shove his foot away. Rui could feel him moving around from the shift of muscles in Hiruma’s side. There was the sound of a zipper then a soft cracking noise and Rui debated whether or not it would be worth it to open his eyes. 

“Try this.” Hiruma made the choice for him and Rui cracked open an eye to look. 

It was a heating pad, one of the fancy instant kinds players took for traveling in case of aches. It even had a belt-like strap to hold it in place. When Rui hesitated to take it, Hiruma sighed and rolled his eyes. “It’ll help with the cramping, it’s not gonna fucking explode.”

“Well I wasn’t suspicious about that until now.” Rui shot back, but he took the heating pad and pressed it to his abdomen anyway. The warmth quickly seeped into aching muscles and Rui let out a blissful sigh at the welcome relief. Then another, far less contented one. “Why do you keep doin’ stuff like this? Act nice, then go back to being an asshole. You said you wanted to, what, date me? Then you fuckin’ wave a gun in my face. And now this.” 

“Just how I am.” Hiruma said, dodgy as ever.

Rui sneered, not bothering to spare a look in Hiruma’s direction. “Bullshit. Nobody’s born with a fucking gun in their hand. You wanna be a fucking menace, go ahead, but don’t expect me to want anything to do with you then.”

His foot was still pressed to Hiruma’s side, and it was the only way he could tell just how tense he’d gotten, his voice sounded unaffected. “You’re one to talk, gang leader.”

“I never tried to kill anyone!” 

Rui rolled onto his back to glare at Hiruma, one hand still holding the heat pack to his stomach while he jabbed the thumb of his free hand against his own chest. He stretched his legs out as well, finally able to without his stomach acting up. It was more than a little ridiculous, shouting at someone while stretched out on his back in bed, but there wasn’t much he could do about it just yet. He didn’t like how Hiruma ended up looking down at him, but he could also see the visible twitch in Hiruma’s eyebrow. Not as cool and collected as he pretended to be. 

Lips curled up to bare sharp teeth and Hiruma hissed out a huff of air in lieu of responding. He crossed his arms and looked away, glaring at a blank section of Rui’s wall. “I’ve never hit anyone with ‘em. Scared people, yeah, whatever gets the to get the job done. But I’ve never actually shot anybody.”

How the hell was that any better? Rui thought, but Hiruma continued before he could speak.

“Besides, I only use rubber bullets when I’m near people.” 

There was no way to respond to that ridiculous statement, so Rui just stared at him some more, trying to silently express how idiotic he thought that excuse of an excuse was. 

For a while, the only noise were the cicadas in the tree outside of Rui's window and the occasional muffled chatter of people in the street below it. It was almost peaceful if he ignored the weird tension that filled the quiet of his room. The warmth of the heat pack had seeped down into his muscles and he could feel the heat coming off Hiruma against his leg. Against every but of sense he had, Rui began to relax. 

“It wasn't a trick.” Hiruma said, apropos of nothing.

Rui blinked out of the not-quite-doze he'd drifted into with a gruff, “Keh?”

Hiruma was staring intently at him. “Everything’s a game, but it wasn’t a trick. No point in spending that much effort unless it’s for something I want.”

Oh.

Staring back, wide-eyed and surprised enough that his tongue had slipped out to curl in the open air, Rui wasn’t sure how to respond to the sudden burst of honesty. What sure seemed like honesty at least. Hiruma just kept watching him and Rui felt pinned in place by it, so he weighed his options and decided, fuck it. Good life decisions were his brother’s forte, not his, why start now? “You like boba?”

For one glorious second, Hiruma looked completely thrown off, then he narrowed his eyes like he was sizing Rui up. “Yeah.”

“Tomorrow after school, meet me at the boba shop I like best, I won’t wait for more than fifteen minutes for you to show up.” Rui offered with a halfhearted glare. A truce. One last chance because Rui was nothing if not idiotically hopeful. He knew his own faults, didn’t make it easier to change them. 

Grinning at the offer and the challenge wrapped up in one, Hiruma looked like he’d gotten exactly what he’d planned for all along. Which, goddamn it, he had. “Oh, I’ll be there, chameleon.”

Rui refused to let him have the last word, even if he’d already lost this battle, so he rolled over and put his back to Hiruma in a clear dismissal. “Good, now get the fuck outta my room.”

Surprisingly, Hiruma did, gathering his bag and even shutting the door behind himself with a chuckle as he left. 

Rui stared at the wall in the following quiet and wondered what the fuck he’d just done.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That’s it for this one folks! Honestly, I didn’t expect to get past 2 chapters, so I’m proud of wrapping it up this much. This is technically the first part in the These Losers series, so you can expect more oneshots from me if you wanted to know where this was going. Thanks for reading, every kudos and comment makes my day! 
> 
> Also, I didn't add it in the tags until now because it's not explicitly stated in the fic, but I headcanon Rui as sex-repulsed asexual, so that's why a lot of his pov thoughts have very little to do with physical desire. He is attracted to Hiruma, just not sexually. (they'll get to smooching eventually though!)

Rui stared at the sharp outline of Hiruma’s teeth as he spoke, losing track of the conversation as he wondered at how Hiruma managed to eat normally. The guy was handling his tapioca pearls just fine but how the hell did he chew without having to gnash like a goddamn shark? Maybe his molars were flat and only the teeth in front were sharp? No, there was no hiding when Hiruma grinned maniacally or shrieked like a demon banshee, and there was nothing normal about any of his teeth. 

He didn’t realize how long he’d been staring trying to solve the mystery until he realized Hiruma had gone silent and was waiting for him to notice with an amused expression. Rui blinked and felt his cheeks warm, automatically scowling half-heartedly in defense. “What?”

“Do you even know how intensely you stare at me?” Hiruma asked, voice dipping low and his expression doing something Rui wasn’t sure how to feel about. His eyes went half lidded and his smirk was… softer? Whatever, it was weird. Rui couldn’t tell if he liked it or not. He kept talking and Rui did his best not to crush his plastic cup full of boba out of sheer nerves when Hiruma stepped in close. 

“You’re always looking at my mouth, you got something you wanna-“

“Do you ever bite your tongue?” Rui blurted out, unable to hold back the question that had been plaguing him for weeks now.

Hiruma froze. “The fuck?”

“You’re always chewing gum but how the hell d’ya keep it from getting stuck in your teeth?” Rui continued, his curiosity overwhelming his verbal filters.

Something about Hiruma’s posture shifted, the way he held himself changed in the tiniest way but the effect of it left him colder. Despite not actually moving, he felt further from Rui than he had before, his expression distant and calculating. Rui didn’t like _that_ at all, and was already grasping at half-formed thoughts on how to take back his words. Hiruma wasn’t normally phased when Rui pointed out his features, just like Rui only put up a token protest when Hiruma mocked his. Before he could think of anything, Hiruma beat him to it.

“Is that why you’ve been staring so intently at me this whole time?”

“No,” tumbled out of Rui’s mouth before he could even think of holding it back, and there was half a heartbeat of stillness before his face went hot. 

That shuttered, suspicious expression cleared and Hiruma grinned slyly. “Oh? And what other reason do you have?”

Rui glared, but really, there was no going back and if he tried to lie, Hiruma would only find a way to lord it over him. Better to lean into it and keep the cards in his hand as long as he could.

“I guess your face isn’t horrible.” He deadpanned. There wasn’t much Hiruma could twist that, right? Not without insulting himself in the process. The guy had been way more open in his interest in Rui after all.

Hiruma actually threw his head back and laughed, startling a group of young teens who scurried away, giving the two of them a large berth and whispering frantically as they went. It really was an obnoxious cackle he had, loud and impossible to ignore, his whole body involved like the drama queen he was, and Rui found himself smiling despite himself. The laughter wound down and Hiruma looked at Rui with a crooked smile he’d never seen before, 

“You’re a real goddamn charmer, you know that?”

Rui huffed, pretending to be annoyed. “Shut up.”

It wasn’t until they were several blocks away, sitting on a bench in a tiny park and eating sweet buns from a nearby konbini that Hiruma answered his original question. “I used to. When I was a kid, I would bite my tongue sometimes. Used gum to help train myself out of it.”

Oh.

Not sure what to do with the unexpectedly honest-sounding answer, Rui stared at him for a moment, then looked down at the half eaten bun tucked into his large hands. “Me too. Uh, the biting, I mean. My brother used to sneak up on me and scare me, ‘til I got fast enough not to bite it anymore.”

“Sounds like an asshole,” Hiruma said with a grin, “I like him already.”

Rui snorted. “You would.” 

It was a horrible thought, Hiruma and his brother meeting, or worse, getting along. It was a sweet sort of relief that it was more likely they’d be just similar enough to dislike each other because Rui wouldn’t survive a team up the likes of that. He nearly shuddered at the mental image and took a large bite of his roll to distract himself with. He blinked when he saw Hiruma staring at him and quickly swallowed. 

“What?”

“You do know this is a date, right?” Hiruma asked.

Rui opened his mouth, then shut it again, wondering where the hell this was leading. “Yes?”

Hiruma narrowed his eyes, though he looked more amused than anything else. “Because apparently I haven’t been making myself clear up until recently. Just making sure we’re on the same page.”

Rui scowled, ears hot and knowing Hiruma noticed because he had a delighted gleam in his eye now. “I invited you here, didn’t I, you asshole?”

That earned him a cackle, and Hiruma rolled to his feet in a motion that should have been too smooth for someone that pointy all over to get away with. Then he waited with an impatient look for Rui to finish his bun in one last bite and toss the wrapper into the nearby trash bin. Rui had no idea when Hiruma had finished his own, because he could swear he hadn’t seen him actually eating it beyond the first bite. 

He lost that train of thought before it could gain any sort of steam when Hiruma’s hand slipped into his, those thin fingers curling around his as their palms met. His mind went blank and his heart thudded hard in his chest once, twice, then settled into a slightly more urgent rhythm than normal as he let out a strangled little sound of confusion.

“I’m taking you on a nice fucking walk through the park and we’re gonna fucking hold hands the whole goddamn time.” Hiruma announced like it was a battle plan. Like he was calling a play on the football field he knew couldn’t lose, his grin slicing across his face, his eyes bright.

Rui wondered why he ever thought Hiruma might halfass anything, or even take it at a normal human pace. Wondered briefly if this was a test. Holding hands in broad daylight, even if this little park was only sparsely dotted with people, seemed so… intimate? Heartfelt? Fuckin’ cutesy? Not something he expected Hiruma might be interested in.

He wanted it though. And damn him, Hiruma had used that edge of a challenge when he’d spoken, like he expectedRui to chicken out. Fuck that. He curled his fingers around Hiruma’s hand in return and smiled at him, grinning wider when Hiruma actually looked a bit stunned by the sight for a half second before he schooled his expression. 

“Lead the way, Deimon.”

Challenge accepted.


End file.
